Ukranian Eggshell Art Goes So Hard

There is an ancient pagan egg-dying craft from Ukraine called “pysanky” I first saw pictures (or maybe a gif) of it on Twitter, years ago. It’s gorgeous, when done by a practiced artist. Finely layered, cleverly designed, wax patterns with bold geometric shapes are put onto the fragile shell of an egg with dye. Like so many pre-Christian celebratory things the idea was stolen and absorbed through a massive violence/gaslighting campaign to become associated with the delusional holiday Easter. If there was any justice in the word, it should be considered a hate crime to say “Easter egg” anymore, but I know life is so unfair.

When my refrigerator died in 2019 I was stressed out and annoyed, there was food that had to be thrown away (even though the appliance was replaced the next day, I still felt disgusted by most of my food). I kept the carton of remaining eggs though, and I have kept them for years as I at least tried my hand at decorating eggs in the Ukrainian style. When life gives you rotten eggs,  you just gotta make pysanky.

Sometimes the process of making pysanka is called “egg writing” and it’s way too hard to explain how it works in a blog, but I do enjoy another form of “writing” so I find that detail enjoyable. There are videos on YouTube, short and long, that show how making pysanky works. When I attempted to learn, they seemed to be mainly in languages I don’t speak. And as it turns out, it’s really freaking hard to do. I’ve been able to knit and spin yarn sucessfully, and tried many other advanced craft hobbies- sculpting polymer clay, stop motion photography, embroidery and cross-stitch, quilting, making alterations to tailor clothes, etc. Pysanky is way harder than any of those! 

The supplies are not super common and easy to find at the usual USA craft stores. The main tool (it’s called a kristka) was only available from etsy.com. They dye is not the same kind that Muricans use for their eggs in the spring! It also had to be ordered online. Each color of dye you’ll use will need it’s own sealed container, so I had to save a collection of jars and such before I could even get started. A candle, pencil, and block of beeswax are the only supplies it was easy to get ahold of locally.

Since the war against Ukraine started I’ve periodically searched to find out what’s going on in the city where the adorable pysanky museum is located (the building is actually shaped like an egg), I really dread it will be detroyed. It was sickening to see apartment buildings bombed and missles shot into hospitals, of course, and all the horrific videos of tortured/dead people in so many cities. Hopefully, the war will end somehow, I want it to happen this year.

I never fully completed even one single egg,  but am glad I gave it a try.  I’m really finished trying to create my own wax relief dyed eggs, but will always admire what others have been able to draw on such a special symbolic surface.  🥚

Happy Spring season and positive inspirational vibes, to all. 🌻 🌸  💐